DENNIS CHAMBERS BIOGRAPHY

Dennis Chambers (born May 9, 1959) is an American drummer who has recorded and performed with John Scofield, Carl Filipiak, Steely Dan, Santana, Parliament/Funkadelic, John McLaughlin, Niacin, Mike Stern, and many others. Despite a complete lack of formal training, Chambers has become well-known among drummers for his impressive technique and speed. Chambers is particularly regarded for his ability to play "in the pocket" but can also stretch very far out of the pocket which is also a hallmark of his technique. Chambers exhibits a powerful style that is technically proficient, yet highly musical and groove-oriented. He can play in a wide variety of musical genres, but is perhaps most notable for his jazz-fusion, funk, and Latin music playing. He's the number 1 funk drummer in America and has many skills. He is mostly known for his fast hands and triplets on the bass drum. He has helped many young drummers, the most prominent being Tony Royster Jr.

Chambers began drumming at the age of four years old, and was gigging in Baltimore-area nightclubs by the age of six. In 1978 (at 18 years old) he joined Parliament/Funkadelic, and stayed with them until 1985. In the early 1990's he joined the John Scofield band. Since then he has played with most of the major figures in jazz fusion music.

He is currently touring with Carlos Santana and makes appearances with his band Niacin.

Selected Discography
Year Constellation Title Label
1983 P-Funk All Stars Live at the Beverly Theater in Hollywood Westbound
1986 John Scofield Blue Matter Gramavision
1987 John Scofield Loud Jazz Gramavision
1987 John Scofield Pick Hits Live Gramavision
1989 Gary Thomas By All Means Necessary JMT
1990 Bill Evans Group (Bill Evans, Chuck Loeb, Jim Beard, Darryl Jones, Dennis Chambers) Let The Juice Loose (Live at the Blue Note, Tokyo) Bellaphon
1991 Dennis Chambers Big City Glass House
1992 Carl Filipiak Group (Carl Filipiak, Dennis Chambers, Paul Soroka, Jim Charlsen, Victor Williams, George Gray, Dave Fairall, Rod Daniels) Right on Time Geometric Records
1992 Petite Blonde (Bill Evans, Chuck Loeb, Mitch Forman, Victor Bailey, Dennis Chambers) Live Recording Lipstick Records
1992 The Return Of The Brecker Brothers The Return Of The Brecker Brothers GRP Records
1992 Dennis Chambers Getting Even Glass House
1993 Graffiti (Dennis Chambers, Haakon Graf, Gary Grainger, Ulf Wakenius) Good House ESC Records
1994 John McLaughlin & The Free Spirits Tokio Live Japan Import
1993 Charles Blenzig (Mike Stern, Will Lee, Alex Foster, Dennis Chambers, Manolo Badrena, Michael Brecker) Say what you mean Big World
1995 Steely Dan Alive in America Giant
1997 John McLaughlin, Gary Thomas The Heart of Things Verve/Universum
1999 Victor Bailey Low Blow ESC Records
2000 John McLaughlin The Heart Of Things / Live In Paris Polygram
2002 Dennis Chambers Outbreak Esc Records
2003 Greg Howe, Victor Wooten, Dennis Chambers Extraction Tone Center Records
2003 Bireli Lagrene, Dominique Di Piazza, Dennis Chambers Front Page Sunny Side Records
2006 Dennis Chambers Planet Earth BHM
2006 Dennis Chambers, Jeff Berlin, David Fiuczynsky, T Lavitz Boston T Party Tone Center
2007 The Carl Filipiak Group I Got Your Mantra Art of Life Records.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Chambers